Apple Chicken Harvest Salad

A fresh salad bursting with fall flavor—crisp apples, honey-roasted nuts, rotisserie chicken, gorgonzola cheese and fruity balsamic vinaigrette. Apple Chicken Harvest Salad feels light, but satisfying.

This is the one. The recipe you want if you’re sitting in the grocery store parking lot scrolling Pinterest for ideas. I see you.

I always underestimate how long it takes to go grocery shopping—especially for a person like me who wants to look at literally everything. So, for a long time I would create this weekly nightmare where I would think “sure, I can just make dinner when I get home!” and inevitably get to the checkout aisle tired and hangry.

The fix? This salad.

This Apple Chicken Harvest Salad is so insanely easy to make. Literally, it’s just combine the vinaigrette ingredients, combine the salad ingredients, toss the salad with the vinaigrette.

And trust me, it’s not rabbit food. This is a luxe salad that earns its keep as a fall salad. Let’s break it down.

First, the apples. Fugi, gala and jonagold apples are my favorites for this recipe (and most things, honestly). They have just the right amount of sweetness and crispness for this rich salad. Really you can use whatever you have—as long as it’s flavorful, do you!

Next is the chicken. Can we just talk about what a life-saver rotisserie chicken is for a sec? It’s always there for you.

What to do with rotisserie chicken

• This! Chop or shred it and put in in a salad. I love this one, and in the summer I’ll put it in a salad with berries, feta and honey-roasted almonds.
• Shred it and use it for soup – Just saute some onions, carrots, celery, aromatics and broth and you’ve got chicken soup. Add any other ingredients you want to take it in another direction. Add some cream, parmesan and gnocchi… you get it!
• Chop it and use it for chicken salad. I like adding greek yogurt, grapes, pineapples, celery, walnuts and ground thyme.
• Shred it and use it for a quick casserole. Enchilada casserole is always a safe bet!
• Slice or shred a bunch at the beginning of the week and use it for sandwiches throughout the week.
• Same concept as the last one, except use it for whatever! Got some odds and ends and need a meal? Now you’ve got a protein.

I could go on, and might some other time. Point is, an ingredient you can pick up right by the checkout and turn into a meal in 15 minutes? You love to see it.

If you are daunted by the idea of carving a rotisserie chicken, first know you are not alone. My husband flat out refuses. Second, know it’s really not hard—especially if you’re just going to chop or shred it anyway. For this recipe, all you need is the breast.

How to carve off a rotisserie chicken breast

1. Slide the knife between the leg and the breast to separate them.
2. Slice down from the top of the chicken as close as possible to the backbone to separate most of the breast meat.
3. Slide your hand into the cut you just made, and gently pull the breast away from the chicken.

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The alternate method? Just slide your hand down along the backbone and pull it out. Sometimes I do this if i’m not worried about how it looks. If you do it this way, make sure you let it cool and be aware the skin will likely rip off.

See? Easy, versatile and delicious. Just like the next piece of our salad.

If you think vinaigrette is complicated or aspirational, please allow me 30 seconds to blow your mind.

How to make vinaigrette

1. Mix approximately three parts oil to one part vinegar.
2. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Add any additional flavorings (or don’t).
4. Shake, whisk or process it.

That’s it!

The rest is just figuring out what you like, and what goes with your dish. If you want to go traditional, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, red wine or white wine vinegar are your bread and butter. Once you have that down, try experimenting with other oils, vinegars and spices. You can even blend in whole ingredients, like cilantro and garlic in my Flat Iron Steak Salad with Chimichurri Vinaigrette recipe.

I keep things pretty simple here. Cherry balsamic vinegar is probably my favorite vinegar for this salad, but lately I’ve been using blackberry balsamic from my favorite shop in Greenville, SC for a change of pace. I like to add a splash of white balsamic too for a little brightness.

For the red onions: just slice ’em thin! Like paper-thin. Not in rings, because rings end up being way too strong.

How to slice red onions paper-thin

1. Cut an onion in half from the stem to the root.
2. Cut that in half again, lay the halves flat-side down, and slice along the striations (lines).
3. When the slices start to look thicker, lay the bigger flat side down and slice from that side.

Another reason this Apple Chicken Harvest Salad comes together so quickly is the duo of fall pantry staples that make it feel complete: honey-roasted nuts and dried cherries. Two simple, low-effort ingredients that make the texture of this salad so satisfying.

As for the greens, keep it simple. Use whatever baby leafy greens mix you can find. I avoid straight baby kale because it’s a little too earthy for this salad. I love the Fresh Express fresh herb mix, but really just look for a nice colorful mix.

Finally, the gorgonzola! Just mentioning it to say if you’re iffy on it, give it a try! It’s so creamy and has the perfect amount of tang. It’s a little strong, but this salad can take it requires it.

If you’re truly appalled by blue cheeses (we all have our thing), try it with a nice goat cheese or add some avocado. The flavor won’t be the same, but you’ll at least get the creaminess, which is non-negotiable.

Now fix your hangry and enjoy!

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